Some supplement income with rodent control

Published: Monday, January 23, 2012 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, January 20, 2012 at 9:31 p.m.

The state's nutria program, in 10th year, was created to control the invasive giant rodents' destruction of marshland. But the $5-per-tail bounty has also come to serve as an important source of income for working-class families in bayou communities.

Traders brought nutria from South America to Louisiana in the 1930s to be farmed for fur. Once they escaped into the bayous, their population grew exponentially, as did their destruction of the wetlands, which contributes to coastal erosion. In 2002, as the price of fur was no longer enough of an incentive for trappers to hunt the rodents and control their population, the state began offering a bounty of $4 per tail on nutria, and increased it to $5 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to maintain interest in the program.

During the 2010-2011 season last year, 338,512 nutria tails were collected from 287 trappers. Terrebonne had the second-largest nutria harvest for a single parish, after Plaquemines, with 65,190 tails, or 19 percent of the state total. Lafourche made up 11 percent of the total, with 37,137 tails.

Edmond Mouton, nutria-control program manager at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, said that many of the program participants rely on the state's nutria bounty to supplement their income.

“It is driven by the economic state of some areas and communities,” Mouton said. “Some of these individuals who used to rely on trapping have now turned to this program.”

Between the $3 he gets per pelt, supplemented by $5 per tail from the state's control program, the $1,600 a year that Alexie Serigny makes nutria hunting is significant.

“It is an essential part of our income,” said Serigny, 48, of Mathews.

He scours 1,000 acres of land owned by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, checking his traps nearly once a day. When he finds nutria, he delivers one or two blows to their skulls and stacks them in the back of his boat.

“I live off the land,” he said, during a recent hunt when he took home four of the swamp rats. “I followed my daddy all through these marshes ... and I love this. I'd rather do this than crab any day.”

Nutria hunts have changed since Serigny's father's time. For one thing, the price of their pelts has decreased, hitting their peak at $8 in the 1979 season, and a low of $2 in 2000, according to state statistics. The most recent numbers, from 2009, have the price hovering around the $5 mark.

Serigny said his father would catch at least 2,000 nutria per season in the 1970s. Now, Serigny catches about 200 nutria per year.

While the number of tails collected in Terrebonne and Lafourche saw a decline in the number of tails turned in over the last two seasons, Mouton said that so far this year, the statewide collection numbers are up. The program has already collected 88,698 tails, as opposed to 68,156 at this time last season.

“I have to constantly remind people, if the numbers go down, it's a good thing. Not for the trappers, but that's the goal and purpose of the program. That means that we're having some positive impact.”

Staff Photographer Julia Rendleman contributed to this report. Staff Writer Cara Bayles can be reached at 857-2204 or at cara.bayles@houmatoday.com

<p>The state's nutria program, in 10th year, was created to control the invasive giant rodents' destruction of marshland. But the $5-per-tail bounty has also come to serve as an important source of income for working-class families in bayou communities.</p><p>Traders brought nutria from South America to Louisiana in the 1930s to be farmed for fur. Once they escaped into the bayous, their population grew exponentially, as did their destruction of the wetlands, which contributes to coastal erosion. In 2002, as the price of fur was no longer enough of an incentive for trappers to hunt the rodents and control their population, the state began offering a bounty of $4 per tail on nutria, and increased it to $5 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to maintain interest in the program.</p><p>During the 2010-2011 season last year, 338,512 nutria tails were collected from 287 trappers. Terrebonne had the second-largest nutria harvest for a single parish, after Plaquemines, with 65,190 tails, or 19 percent of the state total. Lafourche made up 11 percent of the total, with 37,137 tails.</p><p>Edmond Mouton, nutria-control program manager at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, said that many of the program participants rely on the state's nutria bounty to supplement their income. </p><p>“It is driven by the economic state of some areas and communities,” Mouton said. “Some of these individuals who used to rely on trapping have now turned to this program.” </p><p>Between the $3 he gets per pelt, supplemented by $5 per tail from the state's control program, the $1,600 a year that Alexie Serigny makes nutria hunting is significant.</p><p>“It is an essential part of our income,” said Serigny, 48, of Mathews.</p><p>He scours 1,000 acres of land owned by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, checking his traps nearly once a day. When he finds nutria, he delivers one or two blows to their skulls and stacks them in the back of his boat.</p><p>“I live off the land,” he said, during a recent hunt when he took home four of the swamp rats. “I followed my daddy all through these marshes ... and I love this. I'd rather do this than crab any day.”</p><p>Nutria hunts have changed since Serigny's father's time. For one thing, the price of their pelts has decreased, hitting their peak at $8 in the 1979 season, and a low of $2 in 2000, according to state statistics. The most recent numbers, from 2009, have the price hovering around the $5 mark.</p><p>Serigny said his father would catch at least 2,000 nutria per season in the 1970s. Now, Serigny catches about 200 nutria per year.</p><p>While the number of tails collected in Terrebonne and Lafourche saw a decline in the number of tails turned in over the last two seasons, Mouton said that so far this year, the statewide collection numbers are up. The program has already collected 88,698 tails, as opposed to 68,156 at this time last season.</p><p> “I have to constantly remind people, if the numbers go down, it's a good thing. Not for the trappers, but that's the goal and purpose of the program. That means that we're having some positive impact.”</p><p><i>Staff Photographer Julia Rendleman contributed to this report. Staff Writer Cara Bayles can be reached at 857-2204 or at cara.bayles@houmatoday.com</i></p>